Town to pursue second FLAP grant for roadway project

By David Persons

The Trail-Gazette

Posted:
05/12/2016 02:48:56 PM MDT

The ability to address road safety and mobility along a testy stretch of Moraine Avenue was given a shot in the arm on Tuesday night as the Estes Park Town Board approved a request by the Public Works Department to seek a federal grant to fix the roadway in the near future.

The town board voted 5-2 to allow Public Works officials to submit an application for a Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) grant to fund the majority of a proposed $10 million roadway improvement project.

Mayor Todd Jirsa and trustee Cody Walker were the two dissenting votes.

This FLAP grant is separate from the current FLAP grant sought to fund the proposed Downtown Loop project.

The application for this new FLAP grant must be submitted by May 21, 2016 to be considered for projects to be funded from 2019 through 2022.

The project, if funded, would include the following improvements along Moraine Avenue from Crags Drive to Marys Lake Road:

— A 10-foot wide multimodal trail

— Road widening to include bike lanes and a center turn lane

— Curb and gutter drainage improvements

— Intersection improvements at Elm Road and other local street intersections

A proposed trail along the Big Thompson River, adjacent to Moraine Avenue, was deleted from the application due to high costs and the need for nine additional easements. Improvements to the Marys Lake Road/Moraine Avenue intersection was also dropped due to the possibility of encroachment onto Rocky Mountain National Park property and the associated lengthy process for easement acquisition.

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Future grants will be considered to fund the much-needed improvements at the Marys Lake Road/Moraine Avenue intersection, a Public Works official said.

The town's local match for the FLAP grant would be approximately $1.8 million. That would come from the Larimer County Open Space Fund ($300,000 a year for three years) and from the Issue 1A Sales Tax Trails Expansion Fund ($300,000 a year for three years). Those monies would not have to be spent until the project is completed.

This project has already received support from several committees and boards.

The Public Safety, Utilities and Public Works (PUP) Committee recommended on March 10, 2016 that the town pursue this FLAP grant. The Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) voted unanimously on April 4, 2016 to recommend that the town submit the application.

The town board, in an action on April 12, 2016, authorized Public Works staff to hire engineering consultant Felsburg, Holt and Ullevig to prepare a grant application and bring it back to the board for approval prior to submittal.

Town Board Trustee Ron Norris, prior to voting, asked Public Works Director Greg Muhonen about the safety of that stretch of Moraine Avenue.

"There is an accident history there," Muhonen said, referring to a report put together by Estes Park Police Chief Wes Kufeld. "It's larger than you might think. The accidents are really more grim than I would have thought."

According to the report, there were 21 crashes documented at the Moraine Avenue/Elm Road intersection between 2011 and 2015.

Mayor Pro-Tem Wendy Koenig, who originally opposed the idea of seeking this FLAP grant last month, spoke out in support of it on Tuesday night.

"I was the dissenting vote at the beginning of the grant," Koenig said. "I felt I wasn't being heard about compressing this project. Now, (after the project has been streamlined) I feel I was heard. It's an important time (to seek the grant) for timing purposes."

Mayor Jirsa had questions about safety regarding the project.

"I do support projects like this ... safety and trails," Jirsa said. "What I haven't heard ... is this the highest priority for safety and trails? I'm concerned about spending money on trails that weren't the highest priority. Tell me, is it rated the highest priority for safety and trails?"

Muhonen told Jirsa that the town doesn't have a priority list for roads and trails.

Trustee Norris spoke up and defended the priority for this stretch of road.

"In my mind, this is a very high safety priority," Norris said.

Trustee Cody Walker asked if this was the right use of the FLAP grant funds.

"I'm here to work on housing and parking downtown," Walker said. "Just because it's a good project doesn't mean it's the best use."

Koenig reminded Walker that the FLAP grant funds are earmarked for specific projects and not eligible for the projects he suggested.

Muhonen added that this project was "a piece in a much larger puzzle" and that there are not many funds available for roads and trails.

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